As Herbelin continues its brand re-positioning, Tracey Llewellyn heads to Paris for a personal tour of the new Saint-Germain boutique.
Late last year, French brand Herbelin opened its first boutique in the heart of Paris.
A 140-square-metre (1,500 square foot) space on Rue Bonaparte in the Saint-Germain-des-Prés area of the city, the store is a declaration from the 75-year-old watch manufacturer that confirms its position as a creator of timepieces for the 21st century.
The double-storied boutique is a lesson in French style.
A physical representation of Saint-Germain itself, it is a mix of raw and luxury materials; something beautiful but at the same time, comfortable and welcoming – from its alternately pristine white and bare plaster walls to its pale oak floors, central Haussmannian staircase and ceiling-height windows that flood the showcases with light.
“We were inspired by the neighbourhood,” explains Maxime Herbelin, grandson of company founder Michel Herbelin and who, together with his cousin Mathieu Herbelin, and brand stalwarts Cédric Gomez-Montiel and Benjamin Theurillat has been running the company since 2020.
While two locations were originally considered, the Left Bank was chosen for its distinctly Franco flavour.
“The Right Bank is very interesting for businesses and tourists and has beautiful and famous architecture. But it’s the Left Bank that is the heart of the city,” says Maxime.
“It is where the artists and literary crowd preferred to be, people like Picasso, James Joyce, and Ernest Hemingway. As a French brand we wanted to put French flair in the minds of people but we didn’t want anything too strict or formal. And I think we have achieved that.
“The brief to our architects was that we wanted to be a part of the neighbourhood – and they gave us what we asked right down to the window-boxes a la Café de Flore. People see the boutique and say, ‘Is it a shop? Or is it a place I can just stop by and look around and see what happens?’
“Before covid, we were looking at about 50 square meters,” he continues, “but then we thought, ‘No, this is the first time we have had a boutique, it should be stronger, be bolder’. Nobody knew what was going to happen and most brands battened down the hatches. But we are an independent not part of a big group so it is easier for us to take risks. The building was just a shell and we had to rebuild everything which was a great opportunity. After almost a year of refurbishing, we have a space that we are really proud of – from the people working here to the way the products are displayed.”
But Maxime is keen to point out that Herbelin’s Frenchness is down to a lot more than the boutique’s location, identifying a distinct French flair that is inherent to the company.
“Fifty years ago, there were maybe 300 French watch brands, but today there are very few,” he says.
“We are really proud of our survival. We stand out in the industry because our inspiration is not the Swiss countryside, it is Paris. We put a lot of effort into designing watches that push the limits aesthetically and technically. We don’t want to be too fancy, but we want to be edgy and different to other brands.”
Perhaps Herbelin’s most technical model is the brand’s signature men’s watch, the Newport. Celebrating its 35th birthday this year, when the model was launched in 1988, Herbelin was taking a risk with a watch that broke with traditional aesthetics and use of materials, but in the end, Maxime says, it is the watch that “made Herbelin famous”.
Herbelin has always used Swiss movements for its watches, but with the news that Festina has recently reopened Manufacture France Ebauches and launched two new automatic calibres, will the company be taking advantage of this to produce a 100% French Newport?
“I don’t know,” says a thoughtful Maxime. “We have been established since 1947, so we understand production and quality standards. I don’t think we need a calibre produced in France to make us truly French. Would you tell a factory of 200 Frenchmen and women that the things they are producing are not French? I mean, just because the Swiss watch industry imports some parts from China, does this make them not Swiss?
“Although the rebirth of France Ebauches is really interesting for the French industry, we have a long history working with a very reliable movement supplier. So, should we switch just because of where something is produced? Of course, we are looking at the movement very carefully, but we won’t jump in just because it is French. I think today is too soon, and we are really happy with our current supplier But, even if we don’t actually work directly with France Ebauches, that doesn’t mean that we don’t stand shoulder-to-shoulder with our fellow French horologists.”
With automatic watches ranging in price from around €800 to €3,000, Maxime says that Herbelin is keen to stay in this sector, while currently the French movement would involve a three-times increase.
“If and when we do go with a ‘Made in France’ calibre, then we want to be confident in saying, ‘Yes, it is more expensive, but it’s the very best that you can get from anywhere in the world.’”
As well as streamlining the products in the past three years, the brand image has also been modernised with the company founder’s name of ‘Michel Herbelin’ being shortened to a snappier and more recognisable ‘Herbelin’.
The shortening was inspired by other French luxury brands: Chanel and Cartier, that took the surnames of their creators.
With a determination to stay accessible, Maxime and his partners have worked hard to increase the value proposition of the brand, taking existing models and tweaking the designs with materials like carbon and titanium and new and exclusive movements.
“Our aim was to switch up from a very classic look to a more futuristic design,” he explains.
“We want to distil our uniqueness and heritage and take it forward into the 21st century, keeping true to our history, but still staying relevant to today.”
Despite the new boutique, Maxime is clear that the brand’s strong relationships with retailers is paramount, stating that the flagship is not a case of competing with retailers and partners, but more about building a strong brand image.
“Our next stop is to become international,” he says.
“In 2020 things were a little rough but our determination never wavered and we have redefined our vision for the brand, which is different to the one we had in the 1980s and 1990s. At our core is our high quality product and genuine design that is instantly recognisable as Herbelin. We have opened in Spain and Italy and reopened in China. And in the UK, although we’re not 100% where we want to be yet, we are really on the right path. We are much more dynamic than in the past and our UK Marketing and PR Consultant Claudia Ferro is brilliant and knows the market better than most.”
And is the Saint Germain boutique a central part of Herbelin’s global goals?
“Absolutely,” says Maxime. “We know that our retailers don’t have the same space to do what we have done here, but we hope that they will all come and visit and that it will inspire them to discover the soul of the brand and see how different we are to all the others in our price range.”
